Hillel and I had gone to Bancroft Junior High together. He was just on the periphery of my awareness then. I first really noticed him when he and Jack Irons showed up to school one day dressed as KISS. Hillel was Ace Frehley, and he blew me away because it didn’t feel like a goofy Halloween costume. He transformed from a geeky kid into a bigger-than-life rock star. I was impressed, and I didn’t even like rock music.
